Jessica Ann Benford

Shareholder

Biography

Jessica helps local entrepreneurs, start-ups, business owners, established companies and financial institutions navigate significant issues related to formation, governance, financing, compliance and intellectual property. Jessica is committed to understanding her clients' business goals and challenges in order to deliver responsive solutions.

Entity Selection and Formation. Jessica has extensive experience analyzing the benefits of business entity types to empower clients to select the legal entity best suited for their particular goals or transactions. She frequently prepares organizational documents including Bylaws, Shareholder Agreements, Buy/Sell Agreements, Operating Agreements, Partnership Agreements and related formation documents. She also assists clients with structuring and maintaining complicated organizational structures for various purposes, including protection from liability, isolation from certain risks, and preparation for business combination transactions.

Business Transactions. For her business clients, Jessica regularly drafts and reviews a range of typical contracts including executive compensation, independent contractors, equity compensation and non-disclosure agreements. Jessica also routinely assists clients with a variety of business combination transactions. She leverages her experience to effectively manage the entire process, from term sheets and letters of intent through closing.